All The Aunties is fresh to market and on a mission to champion paneer as a protein-rich cooking ingredient for all cuisines – not just Indian curries.
The brand is the creation of Riya Patel, who, together with co-founder Jack Newton, has created three distinctively branded paneer products made from British dairy.
The recipe is inspired by Patel’s mother, who is the face of the startup’s Original paneer, while Patel’s aunties feature on the flavoured varieties.
Patel told FFD that by bringing strong branding to what has historically been a generic product, the duo is hoping to broaden paneer’s appeal.
“I think paneer is mainly associated with being a curry house ingredient because there hasn’t been a brand to promote it,” she said. “It’s been treated as a commodity ingredient, vacuum packed and stuck in the ethnic aisle. There have been no brands taking the lead on education, as they have on products like hummus and tofu, which has meant people don’t know how to cook with it.
“We want to champion paneer and educate people on how to eat it so that they start to include it in their weekly shop.”
To this end, All The Aunties is working on promoting paneer as a minimally processed vegetarian protein option – Patel points out that a 100g serving contains 23g of protein, which is the equivalent of three eggs.
“We are not saying it’s a health product,” she added. “It is healthy in the same sense that a feta cheese is healthy. There is a big shift away from low-fat and processed foods and it fits with that. We are exactly what we say we are.”
Patel originally made the paneer herself, but then moved production to a contract manufacturer in the Midlands to achieve scale.
“They make it by hand, using a method that retains a lot of the moisture, resulting a softer product than a traditional paneer,” she said.
In addition to its Original unflavoured paneer, All The Aunties offers two flavoured varieties: Garlic & Herb and Cumin, Chilli & Turmeric. All three are already on shelf in Whole Foods Market and Bayley & Sage, with plans to launch in Ocado later in the year. It costs £2.55 from wholesaler CLF.
This article first appeared in the June-July 2025 issue of Fine Food Digest.
